13 Dec
2025
13 Dec
'25
9:39 a.m.
On 12/12/25 20:49, devin davison via cctalk wrote:
It's been a while since i last wrote to the list.
I have been reading up a
lot on early cnc systems.
While recently picking up some left over tech from a shutdown machine shop,
spotted a early cnc system with some kind of minicomputer attached. Looked
to have some kind of tape drive and paper tape punch. It looked like it was
stored under a leaky roof, ball of rust, it looked too far gone to salvage
anything useful.
Sadly phone was dead at the time and i did not get pictures.
Reading up on wikipedia, Data General Nova and Dec PDP 11 mini computers
are mentioned as used in early cnc.
Are there any surviving cnc systems, details, or software for the pdp 11?
One early iteration of the Bridgeport BOSS CNC control used
an LSI-11 with all the CNC program in ROM. Later versions
used a 68000.
I have an Allen-Bradley 7320 CNC control, that uses their
7300 16-bit CPU. I replaced that unreliable system with a
PC running LinuxCNC back in 1998 and never went back. The
7320 has been taking up space in my basement since then, but
I don't have the heart to scrap it.
Jon